Powered Charge Port Cover - YES or No?

[Mike in CA]

FWIW, the early teslas you had to manually close the charge port door, the model 3 would close on it's own. I enjoyed not having to get out of the car every time I'd forget to close the door. so I would advise getting the power door on the taycan

I absolutely understand the convenience of not having to get out of the car to close a power port flap you've forgotten to close. What I find interesting is that folks are having difficulty remembering to close the door in the first place. We've had manual fuel doors or filler caps on ICE cars since the beginning of automotive time so I wonder why, for some, the closing habit hasn't carried over to EV's. Not a big deal, just a curiosity.

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[XLR82XS]

I absolutely understand the convenience of not having to get out of the car to close a power port flap you've forgotten to close. What I find interesting is that folks are having difficulty remembering to close the door in the first place. We've had manual fuel doors or filler caps on ICE cars since the beginning of automotive time so I wonder why, for some, the closing habit hasn't carried over to EV's. Not a big deal, just a curiosity.

+2

 

[Vim Schrotnock]

I absolutely understand the convenience of not having to get out of the car to close a power port flap you've forgotten to close. What I find interesting is that folks are having difficulty remembering to close the door in the first place. We've had manual fuel doors or filler caps on ICE cars since the beginning of automotive time so I wonder why, for some, the closing habit hasn't carried over to EV's. Not a big deal, just a curiosity.

With an ICE car, you remove the gas line, then need to close the gas line filler cap and then close the filler door. That's pretty straightforward, since very few people forget to close the filler cap on a gas line as the filler cap is typically hanging out of the side of the car. With an EV, you remove the electric line and replace it into the station, but there is no need to go back and replace the cap that you removed. It's pretty easy just to walk from the charging station back to the driver's seat and take off. I would chalk this up to the fact that it is a new experience and people aren't used to it.

 

[Mike in CA]

With an ICE car, you remove the gas line, then need to close the gas line filler cap and then close the filler door. That's pretty straightforward, since very few people forget to close the filler cap on a gas line as the filler cap is typically hanging out of the side of the car. With an EV, you remove the electric line and replace it into the station, but there is no need to go back and replace the cap that you removed. It's pretty easy just to walk from the charging station back to the driver's seat and take off. I would chalk this up to the fact that it is a new experience and people aren't used to it.

You're probably correct about it being a new experience and maybe it has to do with how the fueling routine is carried out differently by different people.

For my part, after fueling an ICE vehicle, I remove the filler nozzle and return it to the pump. Then I go back to the car and screw on the cap and close the fuel flap. I almost never fix the cap and close the fuel door while I still have the nozzle in my hand. It's the same, for me, with an EV. Remove the plug, return it to the charging station, then return and close the flap. Same routine and same need for both; one doesn't want to leave caps off or flaps open!

Besides, I'm in the habit of quickly looking over the vehicle, eyeballing the tires, etc. before climbing back in. An old habit from decades of driving, tracking and towing trailers. Different strokes, I guess.

 

[Genau]

You're probably correct about it being a new experience and maybe it has to do with how the fueling routine is carried out differently by different people.

I share my cars with houseguests and friends. It's nice to know when they borrow my Taycan that they don't have to remember to close the charge port cover.

 

[RickDC]

For sure my mechanical doors look like my car is going to fly, huge. Go get them

 

[Genau]

For sure my mechanical doors look like my car is going to fly, huge. Go get them

What is your method of defeating the mechanism that only allows one door to be open at a time? With a single door open in flight, you may be in a death spiral.

 

[SFEVER]

YES a must add option!! I have had many EV's without auto port covers and you always forget to close the lid after putting the charge cable away requiring you to re exit the car to close the port cover..... Having a car do it for you is the only way to go. Trust me on this one is money well spent.

 

[iten]

My $0.02:

On forgetting to close the door:

1. I live in a place that does not have self service gas station, but I have not once forget to close the gas tank cover when driving in a foreign country. However, I do forget to close the charge port cover on my model S 50% of the time (which makes me appreciate the auto close function on the model X so much more). I think this is due to 2 reasons:

a. The size of the Model S charge port cover. I don't think you will miss the Taycan cover that's sticking out like a sore thumb when open.
b. The location of the gas pump / charge station. The gas pump is usually placed on the side so you will always see the tank door when you turn around after putting the nozzle back on the pump. The Tesla Super charger is always placed behind the car, so for us RHD drivers, we may miss the tiny flap after returning the plug. Same issue to other AC chargers that may be placed far away from the car.

2. I have the electric port door, and it does not give a warning like the manual one when it is not closed properly. This is an issue for me a few times when using a CCS Plug on the DC side. The CCS DC pin cover did not retract properly after unplugging. the flap will prevent the port door from closing and the car will stop trying after a couple attempts without any warnings.

3. The sealed vents by the door.....someone may actually like the sealed vent due to the stone chip and dirt....but I read somewhere that you lose roughly 30km / 18mi of range. if you are planning on getting the 4S with battery plus then you should properly think twice. For me...the charge port is roughly 1.7K USD...but it also cancel out 60% of the added range from my $ 17K Battery Plus option. So I actually paid USD 12,000 for the charge port door.....

Will I order the electric port door again if I get to do it over?

HELL YEH!

 

[Mike in CA]

The sealed vents by the door....... I read somewhere that you lose roughly 30km / 18mi of range. if you are planning on getting the 4S with battery plus then you should properly think twice. I actually paid USD 12,000 for the charge port door.....

Will I order the electric port door again if I get to do it over?

HELL YEH!

Sounds like a good deal to me!

 

[Bertibasset]

So I have about 4 weeks before my build configuration locks, the only option I have second thoughts about is the Power Charge Port Cover. I've read too many anecdotal stories from owners of the door being glitch, opening when it's not supposed to, and vice versa ?


For those who optioned it, who wishes they got their car with the standard door flaps instead?

So I have about 4 weeks before my build configuration locks, the only option I have second thoughts about is the Power Charge Port Cover. I've read too many anecdotal stories from owners of the door being glitch, opening when it's not supposed to, and vice versa ?


For those who optioned it, who wishes they got their car with the standard door flaps instead?

when it works a definite yes however very embarrassing when you pull up for a charge and you spend 10 minutes trying to get it open and get laughed at so would I have that option again don’t think I would

 

[AMERCY]

Interesting discussion. Easy to fully agree with the ya-sayers and nay-sayers both.
I have it powered, "just because it can be done", no real rationale here. And I thought it would be nice to spice up my first EV with any electricity-related non-essential (irrational) fun stuff (LED interior, sports sound, ...).

 

[Kingske]

I proudly save 600$ !
1OOOOmiles later... I had to get out of the car 100 times to close these f**** doors which I forgot to close

2big2fuel?

 

[ljump12]

but I read somewhere that you lose roughly 30km / 18mi of range.

Do you have a source for that? That's a pretty big range drop.

 

[SwissTaycan]

With an EV, you remove the electric line and replace it into the station, but there is no need to go back and replace the cap that you removed. It's pretty easy just to walk from the charging station back to the driver's seat and take off.

Been there. Done that. A few times too many actually.

And here was a thread on this from earlier with the calculated efficiency gain:

https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/threads/charge-port-cover-increased-drag.3709/page-2#post-53905

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